Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Major opposition demonstration in Manama

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Manama, Bahrain's capital, to demand the departure of the government. The demonstrators moved towards the Place de la Perle, the epicenter of the controversy, a distance of about 3 kilometers from the starting point of the march. The demonstrators, including many women, have raised a huge banner with photographs of the seven Shiites killed during the repression of the protest movement and on which is written: "March of loyalty to the martyrs. " The marchers chanted including "The people want the fall of the regime" and "Down with al-Khalifa," referring to the royal family. Jaafar Hussein Atir, a 18 year old student, told AFP that the "claims are summarized today the departure of Al-Khalifa." In a statement, the seven opposition movements, including the powerful Shiite Wefaq, Tuesday reiterated their demand for a "true constitutional monarchy." A helicopter flying over the route of march, but police was fairly muted. Pau Moreover, the Bahraini Shiite opposition in exile Machaimaa Hassan, who had announced his return to the country on Tuesday, decided to postpone this trip. This opponent is tried in absentia on terrorism charges, but could be affected by the decision of the king to free opponents.